Joint engagement and movement: Active ingredients of a music-based intervention with school-age children with autism

The effectiveness of music-based interventions (MI) in autism has been attested for decades. Yet, there has been little empirical investigation of the active ingredients, or processes involved in music-based interventions that differentiate them from other approaches.

Here, we examined whether two processes, joint engagement and movement, which have previously been studied in isolation, contribute as important active ingredients for the efficacy of music-based interventions.

In two separate analyses, we investigated whether (1) joint engagement with the therapist, measured using a coding scheme verified for reliability, and (2) movement elicited by music-making, measured using a computer-vision technique for quantifying motion, may drive the benefits previously observed in response to MI (but not a controlled non-MI) in children with autism.

Compared to a non-music control intervention, children and the therapist in MI spent more time in triadic engagement (between child, therapist, and activity) and produced greater movement, with amplitude of motion closely linked to the type of musical instrument.

Taken together, these findings provide initial evidence of the active ingredients of music-based interventions in autism.